Shadow & Light: Anchorage Book 7

When things begin to go wrong, they have a habit of going spectacularly wrong, Lord Telluris Marat discovers. Robbed of his visions and his ability to prophesy, he still has his will to fight and his ability to command an army. But the enemy he faces now commands weapons that rival his worst nightmares.

Emily struggles with her own visions, and finds herself caught between worlds. Jake Montagna, the president of the interplanetary mining company, has gone off the deep end and will stop at nothing to get what he wants. If only they were in broadcast range of the authorities, Emily could do something. But Arhanna is far out of normal shipping lanes. To stop Jake, she’ll have to do it herself.

Excerpt - Chapter One

The Truth Comes Out

Diamas pulled fretfully at the high collar of the formal shirt Rustle had insisted he wear. It was too stiff and too tight, but the dark green, heavily embroidered silk was the only good shirt he owned since he spent most of his life in uniform. Of course, they were officially off duty, so they had to be out of uniform, and as Rustle pointed out, one couldn't wear patched and threadbare travel clothes to court.

"Stop fidgeting," Rustle hissed up at him. "We're supposed to look like we belong here. Concentrate on looking comfortable and relaxed."

"Easy for you," Diamas grumbled as he wandered over to the nearest bench to throw himself down. "Of course you're comfortable. Your clothes fit."

Rus did look good. The sky-blue shirt he wore was the perfect shade for him, and where he'd managed to find boots to match and a ribbon of exactly the same hue to tie back his hair, he couldn't imagine.

"You could've at least let me bring my axe." Diamas sulked. He was tired and out of sorts; for once, he would have preferred to stay in bed.

"I'm sorry, my heart," Rustle said. "But we're supposed to be inconspicuous. It's hard enough to hide you in a crowd, but strap an axe to your back—even your pretty new one—and it would be impossible."

Diamas snorted and pulled at his collar again, so Rustle undid the top hook fastening. "There now, is that better? We truly need to have this altered, you know. When I had this shirt made for you, you were just recovering from those horrible wounds at the end of the war. You were nothing but skin and bones then." He patted Diamas's broad chest. "How was I to know you'd fill out so nicely?"

Diamas rolled his eyes at the transparent use of flattery. "This better be worth it. I'm tired, I'm hungry, and I feel half-naked—"

"And you happen to be the best-looking man here," Rustle interrupted him cheerfully.

"Stop it, Rus."

"Hmm? Stop what?" The little blond's eyes were wide and innocent.

"Trying to jolly me out of being massively irritated with you," Diamas supplied in exasperation. "You drag me out of bed, tell me what to wear, where to stand, how to act. Great Liut, I swear you are the most manipulative person I have ever met!"

"I see." Rustle's eyes narrowed and he rose. "Never mind the fact you'd be kicking yourself later if you missed this. I'd think you could at least try to be a little civil in public. You want to play the sulking barbarian? You can do it alone.""If I'm as all-fired handsome as you'd have me believe, I won't be alone for long, will I?"

Rustle stalked off without a backward glance and was soon engaged in quiet conversation with Lady Marya and Lady Tamissa, acting as if Diamas no longer existed.

Now, why had he been so nasty to Rustle? Yes, his joints ached and he was tired—Lady Marya had warned him it could be weeks before he was well again—but that was no excuse. Rustle hadn't felt well either when he first woke up, but still the little man had tried to be cheerful, had expended the energy to fuss over Diamas like a mother bird, and had even gone to the kitchen to fetch breakfast when Diamas refused to get up. His outburst made no sense. It was almost as if he had been compelled to drive Rustle away. Compelled…

As if…

The feeling of impending calamity struck him so hard, he leaned back against the wall for support. He tried to sort through it, tried to pinpoint where the feeling originated, but it was still too muddy and indistinct. Shadow was at the back of the chamber. Liserad and Rock were with General Devar in the near corner. Sergeant Terrent was in the center of the crowd, and suddenly Diamas knew that he needed Rustle across the room, right where he was, to be certain every part of the chamber was covered.

Diamas edged closer to the dais. He didn't know why, but it just felt better than any other direction. It would have been good to explain to Rustle and to apologize, but there wasn't time. He stood and bowed with the rest of the courtiers as his eminence emerged from his private audience chamber and took his place on the throne.

Moving slowly along the edge of the crowd of courtiers, Diamas eased to within ten feet of the dais, and there he stopped, watching and waiting. He caught Liserad's eye and raised his head slightly, pointing with his chin toward the contingent from Earth, but Liserad shook his head and scratched at his left ear to indicate something was odd, but he couldn't tell precisely what. Sergeant Terrent caught the exchange and coughed into his hand, signaling the Investigators to hold their current positions. Shadow, Liserad, Rock, Rustle, and Diamas all casually rested their left hands on their sword hilts to indicate they had understood. Diamas's stance as he leaned against a pillar would appear relaxed, even lazy, to any normal observer, but he was tensed, ready to strike as he tried feverishly to determine what was wrong.

Earlier that morning, they had met with Miss Emily, and she had confirmed Jake's proposed course of action was illegal according to the laws governing these space-faring people. She told them that without the observer, in this case herself, clearing a site or making a recommendation, no mining was allowed to happen. Not only had she not even visited these two new mining sites, she had advised Jake strongly against approaching either population without further information.

Jake was close to committing willful and intentional crimes rather than the harm previously caused by mistakes and misunderstandings. The delicate, beautiful little woman had nearly convulsed with rage when she heard the outcome of the board meeting. To make matters worse, Miss Sri confirmed Jen Souderbourg was dying. The pilot, Leon, was apparently with her, holding her in his arms to try to ease her passage, but there was nothing more to be done. The one senior member of the board who apparently had the influence and the will to oppose Jake openly, who could have been a valuable ally, was slipping away.

When the investigators met with the ktar over his breakfast, his eminence listened thoughtfully to all they had to say, his face never changing expression as he asked gentle questions. After his frantic reaction to the mining site, Diamas had expected a more dramatic response, but his eminence was apparently beyond shock, now, and better able to deal with the turnings of Jake's mind.

Here at court, his eminence appeared serene as he greeted his courtiers and began hearing the day's petitions. Watching him, Diamas thought he had come to some decision. He looked as if a weight had been lifted from him. The ktar finally called the Earth delegation forward, Jake's people standing in a tight knot behind him except for Miss Emily, who stood next to Lady Tamissa and did not move forward with the rest.

"Jake Montagna," his eminence nodded cordially. "Your coming has been enlightening, and we thank you for all of the knowledge you and your people have been willing to share. I have enjoyed the company and conversation of our cousins from Earth and its surrounding colonies very much, indeed."

Again, there was that friendly nod of acknowledgment from his eminence, along with a sad smile. "It is because of this beneficial exchange my decision today is so tinged with regret. I have decided to end our negotiations, President Jake. The mining of the current site will not go forward, and you are forbidden to begin mining at any other site on this planet."

Jake's face lost all color for a moment, then underwent a series of shade changes from pink to red to a fascinating purple. Diamas was almost certain he saw wisps of steam curling from the man's hair.

"You can't do this, Eminence," the enraged mining President spluttered. "We had a deal, signed in your own hand. You people talk a lot about honor and trust, but how can you mean it if you welch on a simple business contract like this?"

"Don't try my patience, Jake." The ktar's tone was suddenly less formal, more menacing in its intimacy. "I know what you were planning, and I know it violates over a dozen UTC regulations and interplanetary laws. Oh, yes, I've read through the regulations, and I know our planet is protected under the Sentient Contract of Rights. As the local government representative, I have the right to halt operations at any time if I feel the planet or its inhabitants are jeopardized."

"You don't understand how much money I've sunk into this project. You can't possibly believe a few hills are worth more than what I can offer you," Jake bellowed. "The MMC needs to see a return on this project. We're in too deep to pull out now!"

"And you don't care who you hurt in the process," his eminence said softly, his fingers drumming on the arm of his chair. "It was one thing to jeopardize 'a few hills' as you put it, but to plan on invading the steppes without permission from the clans, to—"

"I'm offering you a fair deal, Eminence!" Jake interrupted, glancing desperately around for support. "Medical knowledge and equipment to save your people from suffering, food synthesizers to keep your people from starving next winter. I'm not the bad guy here, not the one going back on my word. Those other sites aren't even in your jurisdiction, Eminence. You can't forbid access to something that's not yours!"

"The clans and the people of the western continent may not be under my rule, but I have an obligation to protect the innocent. On this planet, I am the living embodiment of the law, and my duty is to uphold it. All law, not just the ones I choose for my convenience."

The feeling of calamity gripped Diamas like an icy river invading his veins. Without any apparent haste, he worked his way through the crowd of courtiers to reach the dais. Sergeant Terrent saw the movement and brought his left fist up to his shoulder, signaling the others to take up defensive positions. Rustle placed himself between the Earth delegation and the ktar's wife and mother. Rock and Liserad did the same with General Devar, who saw the subtle movements, but knew enough not to call attention to them. Shadow moved in front of Duke Semis. Duchess Sointu leaned down to whisper something in his ear, Shadow replied, shaking the hair back from his eyes, and the heroic duchess only nodded, placing a hand on her sword. Sergeant Terrent moved forward toward his eminence. Good, they understood. They all knew him well enough by now for that.

The warning signals running through Diamas's body began to take shape. Captain Harrel had confiscated all of the Earth weapons when they first arrived, but since they had become guests of the ktar, no one had made any efforts to search since then. The Earth people would have had ample opportunity to obtain additional weapons. Diamas drew his sword. His blade was useless against their long-range weapons, but he could give his life in defense of his eminence. He unbuttoned the cuffs of his restrictive sleeves, in case he had to move fast.

"Your Eminence." Jake spread his hands, trying to sound more reasonable. "I'm offering the option to come back to the table. You see, we've run out of time, and if you won't take me up on what I feel is a more than reasonable offer, all bets are off. I can't be held responsible for the consequences."

"First you make plans to engage in what you had hoped would be secret criminal activities," the ktar said with a sigh. "Now you make veiled and unsubtle threats. I cannot in good conscience bargain with you, Jake Montagna. There is no honor or compassion in your heart, only greed. Our negotiations are over. You may stay as my guests as long as you need, but there will be no further mining of this planet."

The mining president's fists clenched, and his face twisted in frustrated anger. In a tightly controlled voice, he responded, "I'm sorry that's how you feel, Eminence. This could have all been simple and beneficial for you. You had your chance and you blew it, and now you force me into less conventional procedures." Without changing the tone or pitch of his voice, Jake ordered, "Shields, everyone, now."

Diamas faltered in his steps for half a heartbeat as all of the Earth people disappeared, all except Miss Emily, who cried out in futile protest and begged them not to harm anyone. With two running steps and a desperate leap, Diamas flung himself up onto the dais in front of his eminence just as Dutton suddenly reappeared on the steps with an odd, box-shaped weapon aimed at Ktar Liam's heart. Diamas lashed out with his sword, cutting deeply into the man's hand and sending the little box whirling across the floor. Dutton cursed and disappeared again before Diamas could blink, leaving drops of blood behind on the steps. If he concentrated, Diamas could hear the faint hum of the shields as their occupants moved, and he knew Dutton turned away from his eminence. He was heading toward…

"Rustle! Watch the shimmering! He has to reappear before he can fire!" Diamas bellowed to his partner across the room and pointed to the wavering disturbance in the air.

Rustle's eyes narrowed. He saw it and he crouched, blade in hand. Rock raced toward it, as well, while Liserad stayed to guard the general.